UPDATE: I am pleasantly surprised! The West Coast saved Dana Williams, who was clearly the best of the singers who were eliminated tonight. I was sure Karen Hornsby would skate through again on her sick kid backstory, but the West Coast viewers decided to vote for talent (UNLIKE A CERTAIN EXPERT COUGH)
Tonight, it’s the third and final week of the “Duels” on Rising Star. The last 4 sets of contestants will compete,Live blog, Recap and Performance Videos inside.
Before the competition, each act tossed a coin. The winner performs first in front of the wall. The other performs second behind the wall.
Next week, all thirteen remaining acts perform, FIVE will go home.
Another Sunday? Another underwhelming edition of Rising Star! The best act tonight, Audrey Kate Geiger, earned 88% of the vote. My second favorite was Shemeia Crawford who earned 70%. Joshua Peavy was solid at 76%. Those were the highest scored of the night. The kids voting at home appear to be a little underwhelmed as well.
One of the losers, Karen Hornsby, will likely be the singer saved by the west coast. She’s the lady with the very sick child who advanced last time after performing, choked with emotion, a song dedicated to her. Karen sang better than last time, but while she has an interesting tone, she has no control over her instrument. Karen tied with Dana Williams for votes after both competed against formidable competition. But sick kid will certainly trump all. I’ll update this post when it becomes official.
Are you all with me? Kesha might be one of the worst singing competition judges ever. She admits to saying yes to everything because she can’t bear to say no. That is, unless a VERY good singer is performing against a lesser talent with a sad backstory. SMH.
Morgan Higgins vs Maneepat Maloy
Morgan Higgins – Edge of Glory – The experts feel Morgan was taking too long to ramp up the song. Let’s see if she takes their advice. She’s only 17 years old. Well, this is pleasant enough. Why are these Rising Star contestants so boring? Brad votes yes. So does Kesha. Ludacris is thumbs down. She tops out at 45%. That was truly underwhelming. Brad had voted no for her last time. He feels she gave it everything she had this time. Luda had voted yes last time. He felt she was holding back. Kesha saw conviction in her eyes. Zzzz.
Maneepat Maloy – Gravity – Luda felt her rehearsal was a little calculated. Kesha tells her to loosen up. This performance is even more boring than Morgan’s, although she does hit a decent high note. That might get her some votes. Indeed, Luda and Kesha quickly vote for her. She bests Morgan, but that didn’t take much. Brad votes no. She tops out at 66%. Kesha wants both girls to succeed. Both are amazing (No. Both are boring). Brad heard a lot of pitchiness, other than the big note.
Maneepat Maloy advances 66% vs 45% – LOTS of no votes in these numbers.
Shemeia Crawford Vs Unselfish
Shemeia Crawford – Cry Me A River – The West coast vote saved her last time. Honestly, I think this jazzy singer is one of the best. I was a little bummed that she barely made it through last time. Luda, Brad vote yes, followed by Kesha. Her vote percentage crawls up slowly, still. She tops out at only %70. She and her husband arranged the song together (she’s a background singer). Luda calls it damn near flawless. Kesha says she looks like a goddess. Her performance set the bar high, she says. Brad reads complimentary tweets, which he agrees with. Now he’s just getting lazy.
Unselfish – Payphone – The harmonies are pitchy, but the solos are OK. Nearly everyone on The Sing Off is better than these guys. Luda and Brad vote no. Seriously, these harmonies ARE PAINFUL. Yikes guys, did you even rehearse. Kesha votes yes, because she always does. They top out at 33%. Kesha insists that she’s not a dream crusher. THEN MAYBE BEING A JUDGE ON A SINGING COMPETITION IS NOT FOR YOU. She says the performance wasn’t perfect, but she wants them to continue. Luda tells them to keep working on their act.
Shemeia Crawford advances 70% vs 33%
Dana Williams vs Audrey Kate Geiger
Dana Williams – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow – She performs an acoustic version, with her guitar, of the Carole King classic. She’s describes herself as a soul/folk singer. Her guitar strumming is coffee house perfunctory, but she’s got a very sweet voice and nice phrasing. She’s not spectacular, but by Rising Star standards, she’s good. I’m going to vote yes for her. She needs a little more energy. Not sure I could sit through a set of this. Kesha and Luda vote yes (Luda at the last minute.) Brad votes no. She tops out at 67%. Brad voted no because her performance felt under-rehearsed, although her voice was fine. Kesha loves her delicate voice. She’s one of her favs. “Chicks with guitars gives me lady boners.”
Audrey Kate Geiger – Make You Feel My Love – She’s a surfer. Her dad quit his dream to be an artist. He doesn’t want her to do that. She’s starting off a cappella. That should get some attention. Now I’m sorry I voted yes for Dana. This is a solid and original vocal interpretation of this song. Brad votes yes right away, followed by Luda. She blasts past Dana (who looks so very sad sitting off to the side). Kesha finally votes yes. Audrey tops off at 88%–the highest of the night so far. Luda feels both did an amazing job, but Audrey has the kind of voice he never gets tired of. “That’s the kind of voice I signed up for the show for,” says Brad.
Audrey Kate advances 88% vs 67%
Karen Hornsby vs Josh Peavy
Karen Hornsby – Natural Woman – She admits her last performance was not good. It was terrible, in fact, but her sad backstory involving a sick daughter earned her votes. We’ll see if she can get over he nerves and actually sing well. Sick daughter is there. Should help with the votes! Actually, this is MUCH better than last time. Not great, but not horrible either. She goes for runs, but they are just out of her vocal range. She should probably dial that back. She has a nice rasp to her voice. There’s potential there, but she has no control. She tops out at 67%, even with all 3 experts voting for her. Keasha is SO PROUD of her. Brad admits it wasn’t perfect, but she’s “the most inspiring person on the show.”
Joshua Peavy – Too Close – He’s friends with Karen, so he’s bummed to be competing against her. Luda didn’t like his first song choice, “Life is a Highway.” They urge him to sing “Too Close,” his second song choice. This is better than Karen’s performance, but his lack of sick children could work against him. But happily, it doesn’t! He earns 75%. LOL Kesha voted no. Only because she wants sick mom to win. She could give a crap about whether a singer is any good or not. SHE IS THE WORST. THE WORST. Sick kid mom will surely be saved by the West Coast vote, so no worries there.
Joshua advances 75% vs 67%
